'Pak Army to flush out Taliban within a month'

London, Oct 5: Pakistan's Defence Minister Chaudary Ahmed Mukhtar said that the army will soon flush out Taliban militants based in country's restive South Waziristan tribal area.

He said, "I am confident that the insurgents in South Waziristan will be flushed out within a month but there may be more retaliatory attacks."

"In the next 10-12 days we will see a rise in urban terrorism before things slowly go quiet again," Mukhtar told The Sunday Times .

His statements came amid stepped up terror strikes across Pakistan by Taliban militants, who have mainly targeted security personnel and military installations.

According to the report, more than 30,000 troops, backed by helicopters, fighter jets and artillery, are engaged in heavy fighting with 12,000 armed militants in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan.